Immigration

The UK government has revoked the licence of 16 private colleges in its investigation into immigration fraud launched in June saying "If a college addresses the serious concerns we have identified, they may get their licence back; if not, we reserve the right to revoke it permanently."

Canada’s Minister for Employment has laid clear that Canada is looking to profit from the US’s current immigration stalemate by making it easier for talented foreign graduates to find work and gain residency. “We’re seeking very deliberately to benefit from the dysfunctional American immigration system,” he said.

Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridgeshire, has slammed the Home Office for its handling of the investigation into suspected exam and visa fraud describing its actions as "incredibly cavalier" and that it was “absolutely wrong to name and shame” the private colleges and universities without evidence of foul play.

SEVP is doubling its number of field representatives who work to ensure compliance with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System and it has published draft guidance for Intensive English Programs relating to conditional admission procedures.

International educators have expressed concern that the new visa threshold of 10% could disproportionately impact small colleges and that institutions might end up paying the price for refusals that are mistakes or subjective decisions made by the immigration authorities.

Universities and colleges in the UK may lose their ability to recruit international students if more than 10% of the international students they recruit are refused visas, the Home Office has announced, as it continues its crackdown on immigration and visa abuse. A discretionary approach will be applied to those schools enrolling 50 or fewer students.

The Malaysian government has launched a new identity card for international students in a bid to better ensure that incoming students are genuine and high quality. The first student I-Kads, which form part of a wider crackdown on illegal immigration, were issued on July 1.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration has launched an inquiry into the impact of the closure of the UK's Post-Study Work (PSW) route for non-EU graduates examining the effects on universities, students and local economies.The report will compare the UK to competing study destinations that offer PSW rights as well as feedback from stakeholders impacted by the change.

At the annual UKCISA association's conference, the leadership urged its student-facing members to boost advice and support for international students who are concerned by recent licence suspensions. Meanwhile, a survey of HE leaders has uncovered that government policy is among top concerns in international education.

By the end of the summer President Obama will take administrative action to reform the US’s immigration system after lack of action from the House of Representatives to vote on an immigration bill passed in the Senate last June. “America cannot wait forever for them to act," he said.

The UK Home Office's decision to suspend the licences of 57 private colleges and circumvent international recruitment at three universities has sent shockwaves through the industry. Universities Minister, David Willetts, underlined this is "reputation-reinforcing" action as many impacted colleges are contesting the suspension.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is conducting an independent inquiry into higher education delivered through London branch campuses, after an investigation by the Home Office found that some 45,000 immigrants may have fraudulently obtained English language test certificates.

The UK’s Universities & Science Minister David Willetts has today announced in a written statement that £8m was paid in maintenance loans to potentially bogus EU students at Alternative Providers (APs) and is threatening legal action against private colleges found to be involved.

In a combative exchange of views this week at the Association of Colleges (AoC) International Conference, Minister for Skills and Enterprise, Matthew Hancock MP, challenged the FE colleges present not to use difficulties with the visa system as an excuse for not being able to invest in delivery of education and training in-country.

Ireland’s Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn has informed The PIE News of his plans for an “approved list” of ELT schools following the closure of a number of language schools in recent weeks. He added that he hopes to see the launch of a new ELT accreditation scheme from January 2015.